While the list of potential successors to Mayor Daley continues to grow daily, one name on that list - State Sen. James Meeks - has already put the city's LGBT community on alert with a record that has consistently demonized and fought against legal protections for gay men and lesbians. more ›

Per a recent interview with Gay Chicago Magazine, staunch LGBT ally U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) is reportedly "hopeful" for progress on a number of pieces of queer-centric legislation in Congress yet this year, but has admitted it's unlikely LGBT issues will see much movement prior to this fall's midterm elections. more ›

Though a few weeks have already passed since news first spread of Target's controversial $150,000 donation to MN Forward, a pro-business group that also happens to support anti-gay Minn. gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, the calls for a boycott from LGBT and other groups are still going strong. Tomorrow, as part of a national day of protest against the retail giant, activists in Chicago have planned a demonstration at the newly opened Wilson Yard location in Uptown at 11 a.m. more ›

A ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker in the federal trial challenging the constitutionality of California's gay marriage-banning Proposition 8 is due late this afternoon, alerting activists on both sides of the issue nationwide who have anxiously awaited a decision in the unprecedented trial since it began in January. In Chicago, LGBT activists have planned a rally for Daley Plaza at 6 p.m. Other cities nationwide have scheduled similar rallies. more ›

UPDATE: The folks over at Progress Illinois have since updated the original story (based on research done by Capitol Fax) which showed, "the State Senate never includes the original sponsor’s name in the 'Bill Action' section of resolutions, which would include constitutional amendments." So while Brady has indeed done some back-tracking on issues during the campaign season (as well as some strange alleged Wikipedia shenanigans), as outlined in the original post, this is not an example to be lumped in with the others. The post as originally published remains below. more ›

Arizona's controversial immigration law (SB 1070) has angered many around the nation in recent days, with everyone from Canadian dream-pop outfit Stars to San Francisco and Los Angeles city employees mulling boycotts of the state. Here in Chicago, activists, who demonstrated this week in Broadview, are preparing to rally against the law as part of the annual May Day event. The rally, set for Saturday at 1 p.m., will begin from Union Park, followed by a march downtown. more ›

The military's Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) policy on openly gay and lesbian employees again feels increasingly subjective and complicated, if ridiculous, judging on the Air Force's recent decision to discharge Lt. Robin R. Chaurasiya, a lesbian officer from Chicago. more ›

President Obama ordered Thursday evening that his health secretary institute new rules mandating visitation and medical decision-making rights, for gay and lesbian partners in hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding. more ›

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH), a Naperville-based organization "devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda," has been officially labeled a "hate group" in the Southern Poverty Law Center's latest issue of its Intelligence Report publication. more ›

Recent months have seen a number of setbacks for gay marriage advocates, including notable losses in Maine, New York and - most recently - New Jersey, but Illinois activists have hit the ground running in their quest for same-sex civil union protections in the new year. more ›

Obama again enraged the religious right with his recent appointment of Amanda Simpson, a transgender Chicago native who now calls Tucson home, to a position as the Department of Commerce's senior technical adviser within the Bureau of Industry and Security. Simpson, 49, is reportedly the first known transgender presidential appointee. more ›

Openly gay State Senate candidate Jim Madigan was in for a surprise last Thursday when Leo Smith, husband of 7th District State Senator Heather Steans, arrived at his campaign fundraiser party at The Call in Andersonville to sulk in the corner for an hour before drunkenly confronting his wife's rival. more ›

On the surface, Columbia College instructor and journalist Joe Laiacona's challenge of incumbent State Rep. Deb Mell in the 40th District's Democratic primary in Feb. doesn't seem so unusual beyond the fact that it will be the most high-profile battle between two openly gay contenders in Illinois political history. But Laiacona's decade-plus stint writing a leather/BDSM column certainly ups that ante. more ›